Fugitive Ukrainian businessman, one of the people from Viktor Yanukovych entourage, Serhiy Kurchenko may become a monopoly supplier of Russian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Ukraine, according to the Russian newspaper Kommersant.
It is expected that the export of LPG to Ukraine will be limited starting May, and the only option for Russian producers will be to work with three Ukrainian traders. These companies are affiliated with Mr. Kurchenko, according to the newspaper`s sources,Kommersant wrote that on April 11.
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Russian Deputy Energy Minister Kirill Molodtsov had held a meeting with representatives of oil and gas companies, where the main topic was the LPG supply from Russia to Ukraine. According to several sources familiar with the course of the meeting, the official warned that from May 1, the export of LPG to Ukraine would be limited by the decision of the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control (FSTEC).
However, oil companies were informed that three Ukrainian companies would be accredited by FSTEC, and through them it would be possible to continue doing business. These are Oil Trading Group Ltd (the beneficiary is Viktoria Panarina, according to the Ukrainian registry), Naftoprodukt Trading Ltd (owned by Hong Kong Silver Prime Inc.) and Perspektyva Trade Group Ltd (owned by Svitlana Hlushchenko). Representatives of the structures also attended the meeting.
At the same time, according to four interlocutors of the publication, Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Kurchenko is behind all three companies. He fled the country in early 2014, along with Oleksandr Yanukovych, the son of ousted president Viktor Yanukovych.
Kommersant sources say that representatives of Kurchenko`s EEFEC (Eastern European Fuel-Energy Company), which had controlled almost all supplies of LPG and petroleum products in Ukraine before the change of power in 2014, also attended the meeting at the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation.
Recently, LPG imports to Ukraine have been intermittent. On April 5, the Russian Federation suspended LPG exports to Ukraine, a few days later it was partially restored.
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